Types of Funding
To find funding, you first need to define your goal. Do you need to fund your own salary? Go abroad? Start up a collaboration? Buy equipment or do field work? Develop a company based on an invention that came out of the research? Next, find a match between your goal and the many funding opportunities.
Support needed?
For more information on the different types of research grants - and which would fit your research project and career - please contact your local grant advisor.
Individual research grants
Individual research grants usually provide funding for curiosity-driven, bottom-up topics. These grants are made based on the excellence of both the researcher and the research. They vary from small travel and visiting grants to large grants that cover the salaries and material budget for a whole research group.
Prizes
Prizes and awards are given out to acknowledge demonstrated research achievements and impact. Sometimes self-nomination is possible. Prizes are cash payouts. They can be small or substantial (millions of euros).
Collaborative research grants
Collaborative research project grants require cooperation between two or more applicants. Depending on the call, they can be intended for top-down thematic or fixed topics, but may also offer opportunities for curiosity driven research. Collaborative research projects can focus on fundamental research, but can also have a more applied focus, having strong links to, or partly incorporating the making of research results available for economic development and/or societal benefit.
Potential partners include other research organisations, governmental bodies (e.g., cities, provinces, government ministries), NGOs and museums. Collaborative research project grants can vary in size and complexity (from bilateral collaborations to pan-European consortia). Collaborative grants can be interesting for all career stages. In some cases, recipients may also need to contribute towards the costs of the research project, also called co-funding.
Research training grants
These focus on the personal career development of individuals (e.g., postdocs or visiting fellows) or groups. An example of a group would be a consortium of researchers applying to set up a program consisting of multiple individual grant opportunities for individuals (e.g., PhD networks).
Contract research
Research for companies is very narrowly defined. It involves research laid out in a specific project description, with exact deliverables set by the company. Furthermore, the contract usually specifies that the company owns the results of the research. For more information, please contact Luris Business Development.
Funding for education development
The grants discussed above all focus on research. There are also grants that combine research, education and innovation, and offer opportunities for improving the quality of education or setting up international cooperation. For more information and support on education grants, such as Erasmus+ and Comenius, please contact the EduGrants team at the International Relations office.
Funding for valorisation and/or starting a company
If you have great research results that can be further developed for societal applications and/or commercial products, there are proof-of-concept and seed funds available. For more information and support on valorisation grants, please contact Luris.
Funding support and opportunities
This page is used to collect current and ongoing funding opportunities for researchers within the Leiden Law School. You can find a list of upcoming deadlines. The full list of relevant funding opportunities can be found in this document.
Not sure what steps to take when submitting an external grant application? See the roadmap.
Last updated on 16/02/2026
Current opportunities
Upcoming events
Artificial Intelligence in Horizon Europe Calls: An Interdisciplinary Challenge
Wednesday 25 February 2026, 9.30 - 17.30
If you are interested in doing a Horizon Europe project on AI, but don't know where to find partners, this event is for you! This brokerage event targets those interested in submitting proposals dealing with artificial intelligence in various fields and requiring the involvement of social sciences and humanities.
The event is an opportunity to:
- learn more about the topics in order to prepare a high-quality proposal;
- get more information about the effective collaboration between SSH and STEM;
- get in touch with other participants and start building interdisciplinary collaborations.
Online Information Event for the Open eScience Call (OEC) 2026
Thursday 5 March 2026, 14.00 - 16.00 (online)
The Open eScience Call supports research that requires the development and application of advanced research software. In this online event, we will present the call and describe the selection criteria and submission procedure.
Preliminary schedule:
- 14.00 - About the eScience Center
- 14.15 - About this call
- 14.45 - Break
- 15.00 - Project showcases
- 15.30 - Q&A
- 16.00 - End
More information can be found here. The event will take place online, and a recording will be made available after the event.
Changes in the Funding Landscape
Thursday 5 March 2026, 15.00 - 17.00 (PLNT)
Application pressure, national budget cuts, FP10, economic sovereignty, dual use, AI ...the funding landscape is changing. Add to this geopolitical instability, restrictions on collaboration with certain countries and companies, as well as a decline in academic freedom, and you might start to panic. In this recurring meeting, we will update you again on the new policy developments that will be driving the research funding programmes in the next 5-7 years. This background information will be invaluable when setting out your strategy for the next five years as well as preparing applications to future calls.
This briefing is intended for mid-career and senior researchers, Institute management, and research support staff.
Speakers: Anke Klerkx, Zsuzsanna Angyal, Anouschka Versleijen
Funding deadlines
NWO | Talent Programme Vici SSH 2026
For researchers who defended their PhD 15 years ago (benchmark 1 March 2026) and are at the stage of consolidation of their leadership skills/research group. The grant is intended to finance academically innovative research.
Up to €1.5 million.
10 March 2026, 14.00 (pre-proposals).
8 September 2026, 14.00 (full proposal).
ISRF | Flexible Grants for Small Groups
Flexible support (for instance: relief from teaching and/or administration, research and travel expenses, fieldwork and practical work) for a period of (up to) one year for the activities of a small research group.
Up to €8,700
13 March 2026, 18.00.
Individual fellowships for 5/10 months. NIAS offers scholars time and space to work on their own research project as part of an interdisciplinary community.
€2.500,- per month is paid to the university directly (to cover research time).
16 March 2026, 12.00.
NWO | SSH Open Competition XS 2026 (Round 2)
To encourage curiosity-driven and innovative research that involves the relatively rapid exploration of a promising idea.
Max. €50,000 for 6-24 months.
7 April 2026, 14.00.
Horizon Europe 2026 Programmes
Pillar 1: Excellent Science
Pillar 2: Global Challenges
- Cluster 1: Health
- Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
- Cluster 3: Civil Security for Society
- Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space
- Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility
- Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
RVO Netherlands Wegwijzer Horizon Europe 2026-2027: a handy tool to guide you through the Horizon Europe 2026-2027 programmes.